Event Guide

Kyle Petty

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Kyle Petty, a Trinity, N.C., native, won the Daytona ARCA 200 in February 1979 at Daytona International Speedway, his first race on a closed course, leading to an early launch of his NASCAR Cup career in that same season, when he ran five races. He has eight victories in a career that began at Talladega in August 1979.

Things looked up for Petty in 2002 after a dreadful 2001 season where he failed to qualify for 12 events and finished no higher than 16th. In '02, Petty started all 36 Cup events and finished 10th at Talladega in April. He finished 23rd in the standings, a 20-place improvement over the 2001 campaign.

Petty remains a diverse philanthropist who won a Grand American Road Racing Association sports car race at Watkins Glen. He is always contemplating his Kyle Petty's Charity Ride Across America, founded in 1995 to benefit children's charities, which has become one of the NASCAR season's highlights. In June of 2004 he opened Victory Junction Gang Camp for chronically ill children.

Petty has persevered despite the loss of his oldest son in a racing accident. Adam Petty, 19, the heir apparent to the Petty stock car racing dynasty, was killed in a crash during Busch Series practice in May 2000 at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Kyle took a brief break from the sport then continued. However, mid-way through the season he decided to switch roles. He went from driving the team's No. 44 Hot Wheels Pontiac in the Cup Series to wheeling his son's Sprint Chevrolet in the Busch Series.

Petty also works with numerous other charities, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Cup Racing Wives Auxiliary. In 2000, he was named, along with his father, Richard, as "Persons of the Year" by NASCAR Cup Illustrated magazine for their charitable work.

While he has diversified his involvement with a number of activities, Petty's on-track performance has suffered to a degree. He was last a Cup championship contender in the early 1990s, when he twice finished fifth in the point race in 1992-93 while driving for Team SABCO.

Lee Petty, Kyle's grandfather, founded Petty Enterprises in 1949 and won 55 races and three NASCAR championships as a driver before relinquishing full-time driving duties. The elder Petty passed away a few weeks before his great grandson was tragically killed.